Study Programs

DBA Study

Content and Goals of DBA Study

In our country, MBA study has already become common practice for managers. Moreover, it has already been cleared up what is the position and goal of this kind of study in the national system of education. Its role is to provide up-to-date management knowledge to managers who graduated from universities some time ago and spent several years in practice. A certain criterion and guarantee of quality and comparability with the internation level of the MBA degree are especially those schools that are members of the Czech Association of MBA Schools.

In the world, particularly in Great Britain and in the US, the trends develop even further. Information explosion and especially the effort for optimum utilization of knowledge combined with new methods bring management on a rather scientific level in many areas. The utilization of scientific knowledge and especially the application of new exact methods in management decision-making necessitates a new, higher-level type of education that leads to acquiring a DBA degree. Its role and position in the system of life-long education which is where MBA study belongs can be best illustrated in a comparision with acadamic study that trains scientific and pedagogical staff of PhD degree.

Talented university graduates usually continue their study by writing a doctoral thesis (PhD). During that time, they are supposed to master scientific approach to the subject matter and creative thinking with the goal of developing a particular scientific discipline especially with respect to the theoretical and methodological aspects. These methods are then verified in practice. Ideally, theoretical methods find practical application among users with deep theoretical knowledge and necessary experience who are able to utilize these new methods, verify them and possibly modify and complete them in a creative way. Such partners of the theoreticians should be prepared by DBA study. Such types of modern managers will be necessary for quick application of the most demanding know-how in the phase of knowledge management. The main difference between a PhD doctor and DBA doctor is that the DBA doctorate means practical professional orientation to systematic critical application and verification of new theories with the goal of their improvement and preparation for common practice while PhD doctorate mean designing these new methods and approaches.

Of course, DBA study can be offered only by institutions whose teaching staff can collaborate with scientific workers conducting their own research and publishing their scientific results. The best conditions are created in institutions that closely connected with universities with accredited PhD study programs. The universities can fully guarantee the competency of the DBA degree study.

For the first time in Czech Republic, a full-featured DBA degree study for top mamangers with the ability for theoretical and experimental work was offered by the Prague International Business School (PIBS) at the University of Economics in 2001. The study is planned as a three-year distance study. The program of study in the first year is focused on the following subjects: science methodology, econometry, statistical methods, corporate theory.The following two years are dedicated to the preparation of doctoral thesis. The result are supposed to be of such niveau as to allow publication in professional journals with opposing opinions or acceptation for a scientific conference, also with opposing opinions.

During admission proceedings, we test the applicant's abilities for experimental scientific work, evaluate publication if any and verify the knowledge of at least two world languages, one of which is supposed to be spoken fluently.